We had been chasing the elusive “grey ghost” for many years now. By “we,” I am referring to my brother, Jeff, and an assortment of hunting buddies. We have learned a great deal during our time in the field, yet we are often eluded by the truly mature bucks. What an amazing animal! The 100" mark was our goal for this hunt. However, just as important was our desire to find an old warrior. To do this, our approach was to get away from other hunters in country where the deer are able to mature.
We set out on our quest the day before the season opener. This hunt would be a three to five-day backcountry adventure. For this, we enlisted some additional help from our longtime friend and co-owner of Shadow Valley Outfitters, LLC, Ben. He has been chasing Coues deer for many years and is willing to go places others won’t. I definitely needed this additional motivation and drive to get myself excited about this type of hunt. It is a little outside of my normal hunting routine, but I was excited for the challenge.
My brother and I met up with Ben and off we went. After we grabbed our gear from the side-by-side, we made sure we were hydrated before setting out on the six-mile hike to our intended hunting area. We ran into a few obstacles along the way, including an encounter with our least favorite desert dweller, the Mohave rattlesnake. After hiking several miles through rough terrain, we reached our first destination – a luxurious wash bottom where we would set up our makeshift camp for the evening. The plan was to climb the 400-foot hill just prior to first light the next morning to see what we could find.
Once we got settled in the wash bottom, we were fast asleep from the exhausting and adventurous hike in. However, we would not sleep through the night as we had the pleasure of a close encounter with the resident mountain lion announcing her presence with some intense vocalization about 10-15 yards from Ben. As you can imagine, the alarm came way too soon the next morning, but we were all excited to get up the hill and see what we could find.
The glassing hill we selected for opening morning gave a 360-degree vantage point with views as far as our binos would allow us to see. As the sun rose, we began seeing deer. At first, we found several does feeding and then a buck here and a buck there. We were watching the canyons come alive with animals. We found several good bucks that would certainly fill the freezer, but we were looking for something more. The first morning came and went without finding the buck we were after. We took advantage of the midday lull and decided to relocate to a spot about an hour and a half up the next ridgeline. We found a few shed antlers along the way and made the trip to our second location. This was going to be the spot, or so we thought. We glassed the area during the evening hours prior to losing light. Day one was now in the books, but we were optimistic for day two.
The morning of day two came, and we once again made our way to the top of the nearest hill to glass. We saw several deer and several nice bucks, just not the one we were there for. As we watched several good bucks, we chatted about our options. We decided that we would make our way down the mountain. We determined the type of buck we were looking for was not here.
Day three ended up being a recovery day at home. This backcountry hunting was something I was not used to. The weather was hotter than normal for this time of year, exceeding 100 degrees, and we were running short on water, even though we each carried in almost four gallons. The choice to abandon the three to five-day hunt was the right one for us at the time. I enjoyed the challenge, and I was extremely grateful to have this experience with my brother and Ben. As we took day three off, we came up with a game plan for the next several days of the hunt. Our plan for the next two hunting days would once again be a backcountry adventure to a new hunting area; however, the plan was to stay in for only two days.
We met at 1 a.m. on day four and headed to the trailhead. Once we got to there, the four-hour hike began. We arrived at our intended destination at first light, just in time to unload our gear and grab the binos. Once again, the unseasonably warm weather came into play. We found fewer animals than anticipated as they were likely bedded up in the thicker areas due to the heat. We turned up a couple of bucks but nothing we were there for. As we were chatting about the next steps of our hunt and relocating to a different vantage point, Ben decided to hike to the next ridge about 600-700 yards away.
This decision changed the hunt as Ben was able to turn up several bucks bedded in a thick shelf located below his glassing spot, one of which looked to be a shooter. Jeff and I grabbed the needed gear and headed out to meet up with Ben. He had located the buck I wanted to harvest, I just didn’t know it yet. Once we got over to him and I finally set my eyes on the target buck, I decided he was exactly what I was looking for to fill my tag. He was a mature Coues buck that would break the 100" mark. He was bedded by himself about 100 yards away from the other bucks and 335 yards from my prone position above him. For the shot, I used Ben’s custom 300 RUM with a 230 grain Berger bullet built by Brent Jacob, owner of Western Precision Rifles. Ben was standing by with his Swaro BTX spotting scope on the deer, and Jeff was also keeping tabs using his Swaro 15x56 binos. This buck had no idea about the next part of our plan, but he would find out as soon as he would get up from his bedded position and a clear shot was available. After about 20-25 minutes of watching him, he stood up and took a few steps. As he stepped into the opening, I slowly squeezed the trigger. The shot was true, and the buck went down. Just like that, the hunt concluded and the work began. We gathered our gear and descended the hill from our elevated position.
On the way over to my buck, we were able to find a total of 12 shed antlers during the 335-yard trek. This added to the realization that we were approximately four hours away from the trailhead. We posed for some photos and started the field dressing process. We loaded the additional weight and began the trip home with smiles on our faces and memories that will last a lifetime. I’m blessed to be able to hunt these creatures and even more blessed to be able to do it with my brother, Jeff, and our good friend, Ben.
This experience provided me with a couple of takeaways. First, I realized that backcountry hunting isn’t for everyone. Leading up to the hunt, I prepared physically and mentally. However, the reality of the extremely warm conditions, the weight of the gear needed to stay out there in those conditions for multiple days, and the challenge of passing on several good bucks prior to harvesting my buck all made for a grueling hunt. I’m here to say, it was worth every moment! Second, I realized the time spent in the field with good people is just as important as the result of the hunt and the animal harvested. When we speak of the hunts we have been on, the time spent with those friends/family is equally as satisfying as harvesting your targeted buck. The memories made ARE the experience. For me, this is the true goal of the hunt and why I will continue to chase these amazing creatures as long as I am able to do so.
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